A Taste of the New Singapore Airlines Premium Economy

Consistently rated among the best airlines in the world, Singapore Airlines has firmly established itself as having one of the most comfortable in flight experiences regardless of seating class.

Last week, Singapore Airlines invited me onboard to experience their new Premium Economy product which is now being offered on 3 of their 5 daily from Melbourne (more about the other states below!) and to taste their new ‘Book the Cook’ in-flight dining menu.

Why choose Premium Economy?

With airlines employing every avenue to cut the cost of Economy tickets and boosting offerings to Business class, there’s a growing gap between the back of the bus and the pointy end of the plane. In between is where Premium Economy sits. Offering a significant upgrade from economy but without the lofty prices that come with a business class ticket.

What you need to remember is that Premium Economy is not a cheap Business class ticket, it’s ‘Economy Plus’.

What you tend to find in Premium Economy is extra legroom, wider and more comfortable seats with an increased recline, improved meals, and a host of incentives – priority check-in and boarding, additional check-in baggage, noise cancelling headphones and the ability to earn more frequent flyer points. It’s affordable luxury.

Singapore Airlines Premium Economy Seats

Nestled behind the First Class and Business cabins on the Boeing 777-300ER, I found 28 Premium Economy seats in a 2-4-2 formation. They didn’t quite look like Economy Seats, their leather covering giving them a premium look and a host of additional bells and whistles – a reading light, 2 USB charging ports and the snazzy design on the in-seat magazine pocket – telling me that they were special.

As I wiggled my way into the seat, the leather comfortable and the design spacious, offering 2-inches extra seat width than Economy – believe me, it can make a difference on medium and long-haul flights! – I could really tell that I was now down the back of the bus anymore.

There’s plenty of storage in Premium Economy. Aside from the seat pocket, there’s a small space in the center console in front of you, a spot directly next to you but underneath the arm rest and a very clever cup or bottle holder at the front of the centre console. There’s also a ‘cocktail table’ at the front of the shared center console. This little space made meal time a breeze when I was enjoying a glass of champagne, water, and a soft drink.

On the seat was a comfortable cushion, blanket, and noise cancelling headphones. A basic amenity kit would be handed out upon take-off.

Pressing a single lever, the calf-rest and foot-rest sprung to life, an upgrade from foot-rest only Economy, making a nap on board a little easier. All these little touches make the 7 hour 55-minute jaunt from Melbourne to Singapore easier.

For those who prefer to do some work on the plane or charge their devices, if the USB port isn’t powerful enough, every seat has an in-seat multi-country power point.

If indulging in the in-seat entertainment is more your style, Singapore Airlines is likely to have something for you, as they offer over 1,000 movies, TV shows, radio programs and more. In Premium Economy, you can watch these on the crystal clear 13.3″ HD touchscreen monitor.

Here’s a quick comparison at what the main differences between Singapore Airlines Premium Economy and Economy:

Features

Seat and Cabin

Features

Dining

Check-In / Boarding

Baggage

KrisFlyer

Premium Economy Cabin

38″ seat pitch with 8″ recline

18.5-19.5″ seat width, leather upholstered

Calf rest and foot rest

Additional stowage

Inflight champagne.

Premium Economy “Book the Cook”

Priority check in counters

Priority boarding

35kg baggage allowance

Priority baggage handling

110% mileage accrual with Singapore Airlines Kris Flyer program

Economy Cabin

32″ seat pitch with a 6″ recline

18″ seat width, fabric upholstered

Foot rest

2 or 3 choices of main meal.

Economy class check in counter

30kg baggage allowance

100% mileage accrual with Singapore Airlines Kris Flyer program

Singapore Airlines Premium Economy Food & Drink

As I nestled into the comfortable leather seats of Premium Economy, I was soon asked if I’d like a glass of champagne by the immaculately presented crew on board.

Recently, Singapore Airlines has made the change to Nicolas Feuillatte’s Premier Brut Champagne. As my seat mate soon discovered, Premium Economy customers are available to enjoy a free flow of the champagne, to be enjoyed responsibly from takeoff.

One of the newest features onboard Singapore Airlines, available to Premium Economy travellers, is ‘Book the Cook’. This new service allows Premium Economy travellers to pre-book dishes up to 24 hours prior to departure to be served for their main meal.
Currently available from Melbourne to Singapore, you’ll find 9 dishes to choose from, such as Chicken Biryani, Fettuccini Seafood Mornay, Nasi Lemak and – my personal favourite – Hainanese Chicken Rice.

I’m a big fan of Chicken Rice – you can find it in most Singaporean Hawker Centres – and the one onboard was pretty damn good! Tenderly poached chicken over a bed of rice, topped with garlic chili and dark soy sauce. To the side are Chinese greens. Best of all, if you like it you can order it for breakfast too. Sign me up!

If you forget to place an order, there’ll still be three options available for you to select on board your Singapore Airlines flight.

All meals come served with a side salad (today, we were served a prawn and pasta salad), and departing Australia we were served with Bega Tasty cheese and Arnott’s Jatz Crackers, and a range of bread to be topped with Western Star Butter.

For those needing a little sweet treat after the meal, Serendipity Ice Cream is served. I chose the Salted Caramel, the perfect light finish to my meal, but for those chocoholics or those wanting to indulge, Double Chocolate was also available.

While we didn’t take off to Singapore or somewhere a bit warmer today, I’m hoping I’ll be back onboard soon to write up a full review on Singapore Airlines Premium Economy product… and maybe indulge in another glass or two of champagne (or the Krug from the First Class Cabin – pictured below – a girl can dream!)

Nicole is a frequent flying (sometimes) freelance writer with a love of aviation, cultural travel, and affordable luxury. When not studying towards her Masters or planning the next adventure she works as Digital Coordinator at one of Australia's top sports teams.

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